New Guy in So Cal

[jwross007]

Hi all,

My name is John, and I live in San Diego. Just started brewing, I'm on my second batch. My 1st batch was a blond ale, came out decidedly mediocre. Second batch is a pale ale to which I added some extra hops. I'll let you know how it turns out I do have a question on the fermentation process. It's winter here of course, and I placed my fermenter in a cool closet and headed for Mammoth. My question is: am I concerned with the ambient temperature of the surrounding air, or the temperature of the fermenting beer? I'm thinking the later, which I think means I need to cool my fermentor, right?

 

[LLBeanJ]

Welcome to HBT, John!

Yes, your instincts are correct; it's the wort temp that you need to be focused on keeping within the yeasts' recommended temp range.

 

[Sammy86]

Welcome to the group and the obsession...I mean hobby from CT!

It was just over a year ago that the wife and I made a trip to sunny SoCal to see family over winter break (we're both teachers) and man do I miss it!

The weather was phenomenal!

Anyway, yes you need to keep track of the wort temp not the ambient...remember the wort is going to get warmer as fermentation happens because of the yeast creating alcohol...oh the magic those little critters can do!

Cheers!

 

[kmcrae]

Welcome to the forums! San Diego is such a great place to be for a beer lover!!! I need to make a pilgrimage back down there!

Make sure you get over to White Labs if you haven't already. They have a great tap-room where you can sample batteries of the same beer made with different yeasts.
Tasty and enlightening... :cross: